IT training scale aircraft modelling TruePDF april 2019

First and Best for Reference and Scale
April 2019 • £4.75
Volume 41 • Issue 02
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Bristol Blenheim
Scale Plans and Profiles

9 772631 721418

Back to the Fold – Revell Gannet in 1/72
Walkaround – Grumman F11F-1 Tiger
Albatros with Attitude – ALCA in 1/144

Condor Moment – AMG’s scaled down Bf 109D
RAF Tornado Swansong – Farewell to The Fin
American Patrol – More US Miscellany

A Divine Wind

Horse over Water

The Iron Cricket

Malta needs Spitfires

Eduard’s Tempest Mk V
New Tooling in 1/48

Sikorski HO3S-1
AMP kit in 1/48

A Cold War Swinger
Su-17UM3 Fitter-G

Spitfire Vc Conversion
Revell and Pavla in 1/72


Military & Civil Aviation – Military Weapons & Equipment – Naval Vessels
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36762AVI
Air Combat:
Dogfights of World
War II T Holmes
Illustrated with contemporary photos, maps
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behind these dramatic
aviation duels.
HB 320pp £25.00

00385AVI2
Real Colours of
WWII-Aircraft
Nick Millman’s archival
research brings us an
accurate reproduction

of the colours used by
the USAAF, US Navy
and RAF/FAA. Lavishly
illustrated throughout.
HB 290pp £49.99

45341AVI
Echoes Of East
Anglia M Bowman
Takes a look at many
of the WWII airfields
in East Anglia with
evocative photos of all
that remains, from
empty, echoing control
towers to wall-art.
HB 144pp £14.99

42490AVI
Flightcraft 16
Hawker Hunter
M Derry The Hunter
was introduced as a
swept-wing, transonic,
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SB 80pp £16.99

56635AVI
Colors & Markings
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Dagger
Series that sets the
standard for covering
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iconic military aircraft
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520 photos and profiles.
SB 126pp £20.99

09522AVI
Aircraft: Past and
Present F Gross
Features classic and
little-known photos of
the planes that have
marked the history of
the sky’s conquest, of
the 20th-century’s
military conflicts.
HB 144pp £20.00

37401AVI2
Mit der Kamera an
der Front-Als
Kriegsberichter
beider I.(J)/LG2 und
dem JG77 Vol 3

A collection of colour
slides from a former
war reporter who accompanied I.(J)/LG 2
from the Channel in
1941, through the
Balkans to Russia.
Provides new information about camouflage
schemes, Staffel
colours and emblems.
HB 240pp £69.99

74430AVI
Junkers Ju 52/3m
Success beyond the
Luftwaffe
L Andersson The Ju
52/3m is one of few
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than forty years of
gathering information
and in-depth research
will provide the reader
with a wealth of data,
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colour drawings of the
iconic Ju 52/3m.
HB 416pp £38.50

81698AVI
August Euler & His
Airplanes 1908-20
Vol 2
This is the story of
Euler and his aircraft
for the first time in
English. Published in
two volumes totaling
440 pages with 396
photos and 136 drawings and other graphics plus 1/48 scale
drawings.
SB 206pp £35.99

50737AVI
Jakab 35-B-24
Liberator Handbook
Vol2 M Irra
CZECH TEXT. A study
of the B-24 covering
its historical background and includes a
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aircraft. With numerous colour/B&W photos and colour profiles.
HB 127pp £39.90

81357AVI
White Series Finnish
Jet Colours
K Partonen Covers

fighter jets deployed
by the Finnish Air
Force. Camouflage
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With many unpublished photos and
colour profiles exclusive to this book.
HB 280pp £40.00

48178AVI
Library of Armed
Conflicts 6 Spanish
Air Force During
World War II
E Martinez A study
of the lesser known
Air Forces that fought
in the skies of Europe
during World War II.
Colou/B&W photos
and colour profiles.
SB 104pp £19.99

40855AVI
Devon At War
G Wasley The county
of Devon is said to
have been the most
militarily active county

in England during the
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Home Front.
HB 202pp £19.99

44496AVI
Wings of the Black
76821AVI
Cross Number 11
Bookazine Apollo
M Proulx Photo
11-50th Anniversary album of Luftwaffe
Contains a plethora of Aircraft with captions.
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with insightful articles. Bf 109 plus more.
SB 130pp £6.99
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Aero Magazine 52
Dakota & Lisunov
Czech text. Lavishly
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80187AVI
Les Aeroplanes
Voisin H Lacaze
The story of Voisin, his
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HB 176pp £39.90

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Albatros D.111/D.V.
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Colour, black and
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SB 92pp £17.00

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Kagero Top
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Warpaint 118 NAA
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Olympic Airways:
A History G Simons
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200 colour/B&W
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Nachtjagd Combat
Archive - The Early
Years 2 13 July 41 29 May 1942 T Boiten
2100 Flak claims
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15797AVI
Ka-26 to Ka-226:
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US Navy and Marine
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Aircraft Photobook
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SU-27 Flanker
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Cold War 1945-1991
Vietnam’s Final Air
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Polish Wings 25:
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Wreck Recovery in
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SHOWCASE

S H O W C A S E
The HobbyBoss Douglas A-4E
By Colin ‘Flying’ Pickett

total of nine sprues containing three hundred
and twenty parts, including a host of weapons to
hang under the aircraft and still have a fair
amount left for the spares box. The medium grey
parts have wonderfully fine engraved surface
detail.

A dig through my library found a couple of
useful references, these being Detail and Scale
Volume 32 and an old Japanese language
BUNRIN-DO No.123 dating from 1981.

Kit No: 81764
Scale: 1/48
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
Manufacturer: HobbyBoss
Creative Models/Squadron

T

he Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a diminutive
aircraft, so small that it was able to operate
from the capacious aircraft carriers of the
US Navy without having the need for wing fold
or other such devices to reduce its dimensions,
which in turn simplified and lightened the
airframe. It is also highly manoeuvrable and
despite being a design that is well over forty
years old, still finds itself in service today.
Modelwise there have been
numerous 1/48 kits about, the
Hasegawa kit being considered the
most accurate to date by most
knowledgeable persons on the
subject. The HobbyBoss kit
comes as a box
crammed with

parts, a

In addition to the kit parts I also added two
sets of Eduard etched parts to the kit along with
the canopy mask set. These were A-4E Seatbelts
STEEL (FE872), which adds additional detail to
the kit seat, A-4E Detail Set (49 871), which adds
prepainted cockpit panels, parts and
undercarriage bay detail, and A-4E Mask Set (EX
569), providing canopy and wheel masks to help
speed up the painting process.
Following the landscape format A4 instruction
book was simple enough and I found that the fit
of the parts is certainly very good, with there
being no discernible gaps or crevices unless they
are supposed to be there. Generally the build
was problem free, with any confusion or issues
only being introduced by my own clumsy
manner. Flash was almost non-existent on the
parts themselves, requiring only a slight clean
down in a couple of areas. Don’t forget to add a
chunk of nose weight. I used some off-cut
roofing lead

4 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K

wrapped in Blu-Tack and sealed in place with
superglue. There is plenty of space in the nose
for this. I fitted the Eduard parts as I went along,
and whilst the kit has ample enough detail for

most tastes the etch does lift the bar a bit higher
and is worth the additional effort. This was
especially the case in the cockpit area, where the
prepainted etch and additional details add detail
more in line with a much larger scale Skyhawk.
Before long the kit was pretty much together
and it was time to fire up my compressor and
sort out paints.
The kit comes with two different marking
choices, and it’s worth noting that both of these
have the large avionics hump that was
retrofitted to the majority of A-4E aircraft,
though should you have the need for an aircraft
without this it is simple enough to omit without
upsetting the quality of the parts fit. The first of
the kit options is an A-4E of VC-1, Bu.No 150056,
of the US Navy in standard Light Gull Grey over
White undersides, whilst the subject of
my model, Bu.No 1551074, is a three
tone green and grey scheme
over white undersides of VA155, from USS Constellation
from 1966, a short lived
experimental
scheme that
makes it all


SHOWCASE

e fuselage before the addition of the

ionics hump. It is possible to build an A-4E
thout this and the parts needed are
cluded in the kit if required

Once
completed,
with requisite etch
parts from Eduard, the cockpit
is most acceptable
the more interesting. All colour callouts are in Mr
Color, Vallejo, Model Master, Tamiya and
Humbrol, so it should be simple enough to find a
paint choice that suits your liking.
I started the painting process by coating the
entire undersides of the model in satin white
before masking this off and then airbrushing the
upper surfaces in Light Green (Mr Hobby H303). I
then applied Dark Green (Mr Hobby H302) and
Engine Grey (Mr Hobby H301) freehand to match
the colour A4 diagram provided. The paint was
made airbrush ready by simply topping up the
level of a new jar of paint with the correct
thinner. A coat of gloss varnish was then applied
to the whole airframe prior to applying the
decals.
The decals are certainly crisp and neat, with a
decent depth of colour, particularly important
when being placed over a dark colour scheme.
They also settled down well into the panel lines
and detail, so with no further treatment they

were again coated with gloss acrylic varnish
prior to a Vallejo dark grey wash being applied to
give the panel lines more depth and clarity. I also
added some staining along with wear and tear
marks before sealing everything up with a coat
of satin varnish in keeping with the original
aircraft.
Finally I set about adding a full set of drop
tanks and bombs under the wings of the
Skyhawk along with the undercarriage and bay
doors, coupled with those important small
details such as aerials and antenna.

The Skyhawk
saw, and is still in
great number of air forces around the globe so a
kit such as this has great sales potential for
HobbyBoss, and unlike so many kits hasn’t fallen
into the trap of having many over engineered
parts to allow all the versions to be kitted from
one set of moulds. This is due in part to the
Skyhawk’s design, but also the way that
HobbyBoss have put the package together.
Certainly if you wanted a first 1/48 kit then this
could well fit the bill.

I used some primer to check the joins were
tidy and masked the intakes with chunks of
foam rubber cut to shape, which also forms a
decent mask for painting

Dimensionally it looks to be in keeping with
the original aircraft, and builds to a tidy replica
with little effort, sitting high on its impossibly
thin looking undercarriage legs for a carrier
aircraft.
I would say that the only weak part of the kit
was the instrument panel, which was easily
addressed with a replacement Eduard etched
part, but again isn’t really an issue if you plan to
have the cockpit closed, though this itself may
be an issue as the transparency is really only
designed to be displayed open.
I would be happy to build a few more of these
in different guises with the appropriate
adaptations and decals, and that’s a
recommendation in itself.

The camouflage in place, sprayed free hand,
prior to the decals being added

It would be worthwhile to
comment that this kit certainly built
simply with absolutely nothing in
the way of drama.

APRIL 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 02

5

CO N T E N T S

SCALE
AIRCRAFT
MODELLING

T H I S

VOLUME: 41 ISSUE: 02

April 2019 Proudly

M O N T H
04

26
Published by Guideline Publications
& printed in the UK
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34

Managing Director: Alan Corkhill
Sales and Marketing Director: Tom Foxon,

Editor: Gary Hatcher,

45

Assistant Editor: Karl Robinson
Associate Editor: Neil Robinson
Newsdesk: Colin 'Flying' Pickett
Book Reviews: Ernie Lee

58

News & Industry Editor: Tom Foxon,

Design: Lincoln Rodrigues
Artist and Illustrator in Residence: Jan Polc
North American Contact: Larry Weindorf
Post Office Box 21, Annandale, VA 22003
ph: 703-639-7316,

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The Legal Bits:
This Magazine is copyrighted material!
Scale Aircraft Modelling (ISSN 0956-1420) is sold through the
news distribution trade subject to the condition that no
material written or pictorial is copied from editorial or
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publishers. Guideline Publications accepts no liability for the

contents of advertisements or the conduct of advertisers.
Opinions expressed by authors and reviewers are their own
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6

W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K

84

78


E D I TO R I A L

’ S

F E A T U R E S
30

04.

Showcase

66

Little Green Skyhawk

The HobbyBoss Douglas A-4E
By Colin ‘Flying’ Pickett

26.

Back to the Fold

Aero's Aggressive ALCA
Miniwing in 1/144
by Mike Verier

70

Malta Needs Spitfires
Revellution to Scratch…

76

By Michael Hase

Beauty and the Vildebeest
Special Hobbys Vickers
Vildebeest Mark III
By Dave Hooper

40.

The Iron Cricket
Sukhoi Su-17UM3 Fitter-G in 1/48
A Cold War Swinger

By Karl Robinson

45.

The Fin’s Finale
Two views of the Tornado’s finale
Call Sign Monster by Mark Young
and
New Schemes at Marham
By Ray Ball

62.

78

Walkaround
Grumman F11F-1 Tiger
by Steve Muth

84

Horse Over Water
Sikorski HO3S-1
by Huw Morgan

Aircraft in Profile
Bristol Blenheim
By Richard Mason
Scale Plans and Colour Profiles
By Jan Polc

58.

Condor Moment
Messerschmitt Bf 109D Legion Condor
by Rick Greenwood

(A scale model project with ups and downs)

34.

Quick Build
Tempest V in 1/48
Eduard Rise to the Occasion
by Rick Greenwood

Revell Fairey Gannet in 1/72
By Mike Fleckenstein

30.

Albatros with Attitude

With:
8. Update – our monthly news roundup
section with new product previews and
reviews
90. IPMS UK Column with Chris Ayres
93. Stash in the Attic – Trevor Pask works
through the loft insulation

94. American Patrol – US modelling
matters with Steve Palmer

It is not uncommon for a modelling
magazine to run an article on the
Supermarine Spitfire. To run one in the
same issue as an article on the Bf 109
is almost a cliché, but we seem to have
achieved that with this issue, albeit
with a difference. Not content with
some glossy pictures and a minimal
text that more or less says ‘here is a
Spitfire what I built’ we have Michael
Hase’s very hands on conversion of the
Revell 1/72 Vb with Pavla’s resin wing.
Our Bf 109, on the other hand, is the
infrequently covered Dora, and an
expert analysis of the AMG kit, also in
1/72.
Here at SAM we like to be the same,
only different, and it’s that difference
that makes our content go farther
than any other magazine, and makes
us the best value for modellers looking
for something more than simply
cosmetic.

By Gary Hatcher
Editor
Distributed to the UK and International news trade by

Intermedia

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via MarketForce (UK) Limited

Colour Conundrum
More Carrier Conundrums
Flight Deck Colours of Royal Navy Fixed
Wing Aircraft Carriers
of the of the Cold War Era
1946-1978 By Paul Lucas
By Paul Lucas
With Artwork by Jan Polc

T

here are a lot of
modelling
magazines on sale
at present, and the
reader
might
well
consider
themselves
spoilt for choice, so why
chose Scale Aircraft
Modelling instead of one of our
competitors? Looking around the

marketplace I am confident that no
other title offers such an inclusive
approach as SAM, nor such a broad
base of coverage. Many of our writers
offer expertise and specialist
knowledge, indeed many are core
members of IPMS Special Interest
Groups and can speak authoritatively
on their subjects, and it is this
expertise that we try to channel into
the magazine’s pages , something that
I think is reflected in a couple of this
month’s features in particular.

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Cover Artwork: 72400 1/72 Vickers
Vildebeest Mk III by kind permission of
Special Hobby

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APRIL 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 02

7




NEWS BY SORGE

AIRFIX'S MITCHELL TWO
A First Look

By Brian Derbyshire
Following on from their almost perfect B-25C/D,
Airfix have rereleased the exact same mouldings
with new decals as the RAF's Mitchell II. As befits
a rerun, it's much the same story; brilliant, but...!
Maybe CMK or someone will do a set of
replacement tipped-up wingtips one day, but in
the meantime it's the single necessary fix for
every one of these kits we build. Personally I
think it's a price worth paying, because the rest
of it's so good.
The aircraft depicted are EV-W of 180 Squadron
and SM-E of 305 (Polish) Squadron, both serving
with 2 Group/2 TAF during 1943. Both had
astrodomes and bulged navigator's windows,
either from new or as upgrades.
Of these, FV923 SM-E is the easier build. There
are photos and supporting artwork in Typi Broni i
Uzbrojenia (Polish Profile to us old hands) No. 99,
which show, rather fuzzily, that this machine

indeed had the Clayton exhausts and 0.50" nose
gun. FV923 was built as 264736, a C-25, with the
clear view windscreen etc., so if you follow the
instructions for the second option to the letter
you'll have an accurate model C28, apart from
the Norden bombsight. Both these machines
need the Mk XIV, and since my last opus I got the
Haynes RAF 100 Technical Innovations Manual in
my Hogswatch stocking. Scratchbuilders and
Quickboost please note page 110! You'll also
need an ammunition feed to the gun, and long

tubular tails for the bombs if they're going to be
on show.
The decals are perfect except for the style of S in
the squadron codes. The horizontal stroke at mid
height ought to descend at about forty five
degrees. I have Modeldecal and Almark generics,
but neither supplies this style. SM-C appears
(with correctly styled codes and a dozen other
Mitchells) on DK Decals’ sheet 72043 N.A. B-25
Mitchell Mk II/III in RAF Service.
The other option is more difficult. The
instructions and decals give its identity as FL-212
for a start. Well, I have a starboard and three port
photos of this one, and it was definitely FL-218!
Frog got it right, apart from the hyphen, though
their codes were too big and fat, and the artwork
too simplified.
Anyway, '218 is a B-25C, 112806, and the earliest

version the kit as moulded covers is a C-1.
Hence, in order to use the otherwise excellent
and accurate decal sheet, we need to alter the
midships windows and the carb intakes, as
detailed in the recent Aircraft in Profile in SAM
Volume 40 Issue 9. Airfix's parts breakdown
would easily allow for alternatives to G1 and G2,
but I asked, and they won't, so as the 'new' little
windows clash with the ‘old’ there is no real
alternative to filling, cutting-out, and reglazing. I
recommend a complete glazed oval for the
starboard side, with a lick of paint across the top.
As for the carburettor intakes, I'd razor saw them
horizontally off the top of parts C2/C3, replacing
the saw cut with suitable thin card, and take the
excess width (5") out of the middle, to keep the

round ends undamaged. Replace them on top of
the bulkhead, then shave the cowlings and
upper wing fairings to suit and extend the gill
rings inwards. I know it's messy, but it does show
when you compare before and after. Note that
the rectangular panel behind the exhaust
collector outlet is not camouflaged, but
discoloured bare steel.
This aeroplane shows no sign of having a nose
gun, either stowed or deployed. It did however
have a short rod aerial under the nose, just
forward of the port nose hatch and
perpendicular to the skin. The bombsight of

course remains a Mk XIV.
Despite '218's depiction in Aircraft in Profile and
Paul Lucas's articles on the subject, neither of
these aeroplanes was green. The instructions
correctly suggest Humbrol 155, and I reckon
Revell 146 (NATO Olive) would be just as good.
I'd lighten either, just a little, with light grey and
then splurge a darkened version over the centre
section, the nacelle tops and the forward half of
the outer wings as far as the ailerons. This is not
paint, but muck, neither neat nor symmetrical,
but glaringly obvious nonetheless. And after
only seven trips, too...
Overall it's marvellous, with minor annoyances.
Airfix deserve to sell shedloads of them, if only
because the conversion potential is so extensive.
And having already got a 2TAF Mitchell on my
shelf, that's where I'll go with this one. Don't wait
up ...
www.revell.de

PLUS MODEL
Constellation Plus…
Plus Model’s adoption of the Heller C-121 has offered modellers the
opportunity to build a striking model in 1/72, building on a classic
tooling that already had much to offer, and adding an assortment of
upgrades and detail sets that are now joined by this latest addition, a
set of four engines and propellers comprising some forty six resin parts,
a small etched fret and a decal sheet.
Also new from Plus Model are a

couple of pilot figures. AL3001 is a
1/32 standing figure of a RAF Tempest
pilot depicted with a cup of tea in one
hand and his flying helmet folded in
the other. AL4082 is a 1/48 US Navy
pilot figure designed to pose
alongside the F4U Corsair. Both are
very finely sculpted with superb detail
and a great deal of character.
www.plusmodel.cz

12 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K

DROPPING A BRICK
Apologies for the incorrectly credited
article in last month’s issue. The Buccaneer
was of course the work of Ray Ball. Thanks
to Ray for the piece and for his patience in
the face our lapse. Likewise to Brian
Derbyshire, who confronted with a
Buccaneer would probably wonder where
the propeller was. Thanks to both for their
continuing contributions and expertise.


See you at the Scottish
Nationals, Perth


BOOKREVIEWS

A look at some of the latest publications
received for review Edited by Ernie Lee
F11F-1 Tiger Aircraft Walkaround CD
By: Steve Muth
Publisher: Peregrine Publishing
Published in
word and JPEG
format for
near universal
access and
simplicity, the
author
presents
clear detail
photographs
of the
cockpit, landing gear, wheel wells, exhaust,
wing fold and other details of interest to the
scale modeller. This CD follows on from the
acclaimed twelve page booklets and other
previously published CDs by Peregrine
Publishing.
The photographs were taken of the F11F-1 at
the National Museum of Naval Aviation at
Pensacola, Florida. This CD will make an
excellent reference for the any of the F11F kits
now on the market, particularly the Old
Lindberg kit. The later F11F-1F with the J-79
engine gave it a much needed boost in

performance but too late. The F-8 was already
there. This is an accurate restoration of the US
Navy’s first supersonic shipboard fighter and
it has been captured in all its glorious detail.
The photographs were taken with the
cooperation of the National Naval Aviation
Museum staff, thus assuring adequate access
to the cockpit and other details.
Priced at an affordable $12.00, these CDs may
be ordered from Steve Muth at Peregrine
Publishing, 70 The Promenade, Glen Head, NY
11545, USA, by telephone on (516)759-1089,
by FAX on (516)759-1034 or email
Payment by check on
a US bank in dollars or PayPal. For overseas
orders add $12.00 US dollars for postage.

Building Concorde
Author: Tony Buttler with Jean Christophe
Carbonel
Publisher: Crecy Publishing Ltd
ISSN: 978 19108 091 43
Format: Hardback, 240 pages, 290mm by
216mm
There cannot
be many
people who
have not heard
of the
Concorde, the

astest
commercial
aircraft ever
built. Sadly it
s now
elegated to
he history
books with
nothing on
he horizon

to replace it. To design and build such a
machine cost a great deal of money and
expertise and the British aircraft industry
looked for a partner in this project. The
obvious one in Europe was France, in fact the
only country capable of such a project other
than the British.
This book is not just about Concorde but
other studies of high speed flight on both
sides of the channel. Some of the designs
were out of this world. The Armstrong
Whitworth M-Wing was one of them. The
wing shape from above was just that. A
forward designed inner section, then the
engine and the outer section swept. The
swing wing was another concept looked into,
although they got over their giddy period
and started to look into more conventional
designs. It is obvious that a lot of research has

gone into this work and although much has
been written about this aircraft, I do not know
of any other book that covers the whole
subject so well.
If your interest lies with modern commercial
aircraft, then you have to include the
Concorde. Although modern commercial
aircraft are not my thing, this is one machine I
fancied building, unfortunately all the reports
I read were anything but complimentary
regarding the available kits. Seeing this
aircraft taking off at Heathrow is something I
will never forget so I am glad that we have an
author who has done such a good job of
recording this one of a kind.
www.mmpbooks.biz
Ernie Lee

Polish Wings Number 25 - Fokker
E.V/D.VIII
Author: Tomasz I Kapanski
Publisher: Mushroom Model Publications
ISBN: 978 83659 580 68
Format: Paperback, 80 pages A4
From the end
of the
eighteenth
century,
Germany,
AustroHungary and

Russia had
occupied
Poland. At
he end of
World War I
Poland took
advantage
of the
ituation
and expelled the
occupying forces and resurrected the
independent Polish state. They then started
to collect a considerable number of German
aircraft, which formed the beginning of the
Polish Air Force. Among them were these
Fokker E.V/D.VIII fighters.
We get an in-depth story of their service with
a good number of photographs and, as far as

14 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K

modellers are concerned, a superb collection
of colour profiles and in some cases upper
and lower views. What makes them
particularly interesting is the mix of the
original German lozenge coloured fabric and
newly painted wings. However watch out for
some Bolshevik machines. These are easy to
produce in modelling form as the paint
schemes were very basic, one with skis was

dark green overall with a natural metal
cowing and just red stars on the upper wing
surfaces. The other had a strange colour
pattern. The fuselage had large areas of three
different shades of grey and the only insignia
were white circles on the rudder.
Mushroom have given us yet another
interesting aspect of European aviation and
the mix of German Lozenge fabric and Polish
additions makes for some interesting
schemes. This is something you could not
make up!
www.mmpbooks.biz
Ernie Lee

Fury from the North
Author: Douglas C. Dildy
Publisher: Helion and Company
ISBN: 978 19123 903 35
Format: Paperback, 96 pages, 297mm by
210mm
While dozens
of accounts of
he Korean
air war have
been
published
over the
ime, nearly
all of these

ocus on the
high profile
combats
between
he North
American
F-86
Sabres of
the US Air Force
(USAF) and the MiG-15s opposing them.
Consequently the story of the North Korean
Air Force remains largely unknown. The
service was diminutive service was virtually
wiped out of the skies in a matter of weeks
after the start of that conflict. Thereafter, the
impression is that it never took part in the
Actually, the KPAF was rebuilt initially with
piston engined fighters of Soviet origin and
converted to jets fairly early on.
This book tells the story of the KPAF. Clearly,
building a modern effective air force was
always a daunting undertaking, even in the
late 1940s when there was abundance of
combat aircraft left over from World War II.
This fascinating account includes some
surprising truths, as well as a wealth of
essential information for the modeller and
general enthusiast.
www.casematepublishing.co.uk

U P D AT E S

Eduard

Eduard

Scale Aircraft Conversions

Scale Aircraft Conversions

Tuplov Tu-128M
(for Trumpeter kits)

Sukhoi Su-27UB
(for Zvezda kits)

Consolidated B-24J Liberator
Landing Gear (for Hobby Boss kits)

Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2b Late
Landing Gear
(for Wingnut Wings kits)
Scale:
1/32

1/72

Scale:

73653

Product No:

Etched Brass

Type:

1/72

Scale:

SS652

Product No:

Etched Brass

Type:

1/32

Scale:
Product No:

32140

Product No:

32141

Type:

Metal

Type:

Metal

www.eduard.com

www.eduard.com

Scale Aircraft Conversions

Scale Aircraft Conversions

True Details

True Details

Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1 Landing
Gear (for 2018 Tamiya kits)

Bristol Beaufighter TF.X Landing
Gear (for Revell kits)

Consolidated B-24D/B-24J
Liberator Wheel Set with Dust

Covers (for Hobby Boss kits)
Scale:
1/32

ACES II Ejection seat

1/48

Scale:

www.scaleaircraftconversions.com

1/48

Scale:

Product No:

72365

Product No:

48364

Product No:

Type:

Metal

Type:

Metal

Type:

www.scaleaircraftconversions.com

www.scaleaircraftconversions.com

32217
Resin

www.scaleaircraftconversions.com

1/32

Scale:

332901

Product No:

Resin

Type:

www.squadron.com

www.squadron.com

True Details

Aviattic

Aviattic

Aviattic

Lockheed P-38 Lightning Main and
Nose Wheel Set with Dust Covers

Halberstadt CL.II Five Colour
Lozenge Upper Surfaces with
Lozenge Rib
Scale:
1/32

Halberstadt CL.II Five Colour Lower
Lozenge on Upper Surfaces with
Lozenge Rib Tapes
Scale:
1/32

Halberstadt CL.II Tail Surfaces Five
Colour Lozenge with Lozenge Rib
Tapes
Scale:
1/32

1/48

Scale:
Product No:

48219
Resin

Type:

Product No:

72365

Product No:

32200

Product No:

32204

Type:

Decals

Type:

Decals

Type:

Decals

www.squadron.com

www.aviattic.co.uk

www.aviattic.co.uk

www.aviattic.co.uk

Boa Decals

DK Decals

DK Decals

Rising Decals

Airbus A319-112 Croatia Airlines
(for Revell kits)

Supermarine Spitfire
Mk IX Aces

Piper L-4H/NE-1 in USAAF and
RAAF Service

Mitsubishi G4M1

type 1 Betty Rikko

1/144

Scale:
Product No:

144112
Decals

Type:
www.boaagency.cz

1/32

Scale:

1/48

Scale:

1/48

Scale:

Product No:

32009

Product No:

48009

Product No:

48022

Type:

Decals

Type:

Decals

Type:

Decals

www.dkdecals.cz

18 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K

www.dkdecals.cz

www.risingdecals.com


U P D AT E S

Rising Decals

Rising Decals

Rising Decals

SBS Model

Mitsubishi
Ki-46 III Dinah

Mitsubishi Ki-51 Sonia Unknown and
Less Known Units of the Japanese
Imperial Army and Navy Part One
Scale:
1/72

Tachikawa Ki-36 Ida Unknown and
Less Known Units of the Japanese
Imperial Army and Navy Part Two
Scale:
1/72

Messerschmitt Bf-109G-2
Bf-109G-4 in Hungarian Service

1/48

Scale:
Product No:

48023

Product No:

72081

Product No:

Type:

Decals

Type:

Decals

Type:

www.risingdecals.com

UK Importers
Pocketbond: www.pocketbond.co.uk
01455 841756
The Hobby Company: www.hobbyco.net
01908 605686

www.risingdecals.com

720825

Decals

www.risingdecals.com

1/48

Scale:
Product No:

4827D

Type:

Decals
www.sbsmodel.com

Wingnut Wings: www.wingnutwings.com

Rare-Plane Detective:
www.rare-planedetective.com 702-564-2851

US Importers

Sprue Brothers: www.spruebrothers.com
816-759-8484

Atlantis: www.atlantis-models.com

Hannants: www.hannants.co.uk
01502 517444

Dragon USA: www.dragonmodelsusa.com
626-968-0322

Squadron: www.squadron.com
877-414-0434

Creative Models: www.creativemodels.co.uk
01354 760022

Linden Hill Imports: www.lindenhillimports.com
914-734-9616

Stevens International: www.stevenshobby.com
856-435-7645

Amerang: www.amerang.co.uk
01482 887917

MRC: www.modelrectifier.com
732-225-2100

UMM-USA: www.umm-usa.com
847-537-0867

APRIL 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 02

19

U P D AT E S

AF-3S Guardian MAD Boom
By Andy McCabe

Kit No: SH48194
Scale: 1/48
Type: Injection Moulded
Plastic
Manufacturer: Airfix
www.specialhobby.eu

S

pecial Hobby’s kit of the AF-3S
Guardian is a rerelease with
new parts and decals, and
contains nine sprues of grey and
one clear sprue of injection
moulded plastic, one etched fret,
fifteen resin parts, two decal sheets
and one full colour
assembly/painting/marking guide
booklet. The parts are nicely
moulded with finely engraved
panels lines and etched parts are
supplied for the cockpit, wings and
landing gear. The resin are
predominantly for the Pratt &
Whitney engine and prop.

Colour call outs are for Gunze
paints throughout
the build.
The build
begins with
the interior
and the
cockpit

instrument panel, which has decals
for the instruments along with a
resin scope. The pilot seat has
etched seat harnesses and there
are two other crew stations within
the fuselage and though both seats
also have etched seat belts there is
no other interior detail provided.
The cockpit has decals for the two
side consoles with etched
document stowage and a resin
equipment parts behind the pilot’s
seat. The cockpit was painted matt
black throughout with off white for
the remainder of the interior.
The resin engine is very nicely
cast with loads of detail, most of
which is lost once it is installed in
the fuselage as the only thing
visible is the front which is a pity.
This version of the aircraft differs

chiefly in the fitment of the MAD
Boom fairing, a resin part that is
glued into position on the rear
starboard fuselage once the main
airframe has been assembled.
The model was given a coat of
Ultimate Grey Primer prior to being
sprayed with Lifecolor UA 047
FS15042 Sea Blue. The decals are
superbly printed with good colour
density, which is needed when you
have white decals over a dark blue
colour scheme. The decals sheet
contains options for four aircraft:
• AF-3 Guardian S, Bu.No
130365.153/7L, Naval Air Reserve
Training Unit (NARTU), NAS Los
Alamitos, 1956. This aircraft
wears the Grey/White colour
scheme
• AF-3 Guardian S, Bu.No 130367,
12/SM, VS-27 Aircraft Carrier
CVS-36 USS
Antietam,

20 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K

Mediterranean, 1953. This
aircraft wears the Sea Blue colour
scheme

• AF-3 Guardian, Bu.No 130382
Naval Air Reserve Training Unit
(NARTU), NAS Los Alamitos,
1956. This aircraft wears the
Grey/White colour scheme
• AF-3 Guardian, Bu.No 130365
12/SV, VS-20 NAS Atsugi, Japan,
Spring/Summer 1953. This
aircraft wears the Sea Blue colour
scheme

Conclusion
Yet another superb model from
Special Hobby. The Guardian looks
very smart in its Sea Blue scheme,
which really sets the aircraft off
very nicely. The parts go together
extremely well and the fit of them
is superb. The resin engine is
excellent but the detail is lost once
it is installed, although by super
detailing the model and opening
up the engine cowls it could be
revealed in all of its glory, but that’s
for another project maybe. Built
straight from the box the kit is
nonetheless impressive, and in 1/48
scale it is quite a big model.
Special Hobby’s instructions are
very nicely laid out and with them

being in colour it helps to
distinguish the parts somewhat
better than monochrome ones
How times are changing in the
modelling world and the kits seem
to be getting better and better
every year.




S U B  C U TA N E O U S

The Hangar Deck

F

ollowing publication of the Colour
Conundrum article that dealt with the
colours applied to the Flight Decks of Royal
Navy Aircraft Carriers it became apparent that
information on how the interior of the Hangar
Deck was painted would also be helpful to some
people. With the publication of a similar second
article dealing with the colours applied to post
war flight decks, it seems likely that a few words
about the colour scheme of the post war Hangar
decks would also be of interest.
With regard to the wartime Aircraft Carriers,
the only document I have found at the time of

writing that touches upon the subject is
Admiralty Fleet Order (AFO) 1850/43 entitled
Painting of Hangars dated 22nd April 1943. This
stated that in order to provide better lighting in
the hangars of aircraft carriers, it had been
decided that the hangar bulkheads should
generally be painted white. The lift openings, the
surface of the fireproof curtains and armour
doors facing the lift opening were to be painted
a dull (i.e. matt) black to reduce the possibility of
light being reflected up through the lift
openings. A dado approximately three feet high
of dark grey or black was to be painted round
the lower part of the hangar bulkheads. The AFO
made no mention of the deck itself, and it is
thought that this was left as bare unpainted
steel as this is implied by the Post War AFO that
superseded AFO 1850/43, AFO 7197/46 Hangars
- Painting of in Fleet and Light Fleet Carriers
dated 13th December 1946.
AFO 7197/46 went into much more detail as
to how the hangars were to be painted. The text
of the appendix to this order, which was entitled
Specification for Painting Hangars of Fleet and
Light Fleet Carriers, stated that the scheme of
painting for the hangars of aircraft carriers was
designed for the purposes of the preservation of
the structure, cleanliness, and to provide a high
degree of light reflection. The last requirement
was considered to be of great importance to

ensure that the best results were obtained from
the hangar lighting so that maintenance work
on the aircraft could be performed under the
best possible lighting conditions.
Hangar bulkheads were to be painted with
one priming coat of aluminium paint followed
by two finishing coats of White Fire Resistant
Paint, which gave what the AFO describes as a
half gloss white finish. The lower portion of the
hangar bulkheads were to have a dado
extending for a distance of eighteen
inches above the deck, which was to
be applied using what the AFO calls a
light grey shade. This was to be mixed
by adding 7lbs of blue-black paste to
each cwt. of the White Fire Resistant
Paint used to paint the rest of the
bulkhead.

4

By Paul Lucas
The deck head over the hangar and all deep
supporting beams and girders were to be
painted in a similar way to the hangar
bulkheads.
The fittings in the hangar such as access
platforms, stowages for equipment both on the
hangar bulkhead and overhead, and equipment
permanently fitted in the hangar were to be

painted in a similar manner and to the same
shade as the hangar bulkheads.
The hangar deck itself was to be left bare and
unpainted. The AFO mentioned however that it
was under consideration to coat the hangar
deck with a plain oil and petrol resisting paint or
similar composition, which had non-slip
properties. The adoption of such a finish would
depend on the result of trials and this section of
the AFO would be amended as necessary in due
course.
The bulkheads that formed the boundaries of
the lift wells were to continue to be finished with
black paint as previously.
The Hangar Decks of the Korean War period
were described by the contents of AFO 761/53
entitled Aircraft Carriers - Hangars - Painting of
in Fleet and Light Fleet Carriers dated 13th
March 1953. According to this AFO the hangar
bulkheads were still to be painted white, though
the undercoat was now to be yellow zinc
chromate primer. The eighteen inch high dado
was no longer to be light grey but was now to
be Brunswick Green BS 381C (1948) No. 226. This
was actually Middle Brunswick Green.
The other major difference between AFO
761/53 and AFO 7197/46 was to be found in
paragraph (d) which was headed Hangar Decks.
This paragraph stated that:
'It has been found that, although painting of

hangar decks improves appearance cleanliness
and light reflection, it fails in its most essential
function of providing a non-skid surface and is
particularly slippery when AVGAS and Kerosine are
spilt. It is therefore decided that hangar decks
should be bare in future.
To ensure that the hangar deck plating is
maintained in good condition, these decks should
be inspected periodically, and where surface
rust is discovered, the affected part
should be wire scrubbed and coated
with light mineral oil.'
Evidently the trials
mentioned in 1946 had
been carried out and
the paint finish
had been
found

W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K

unsatisfactory. At the time of writing, I have not
found any documents relating to these trials that
might suggest what colour the paint used was.
This scheme looks as though it remained in
use unchanged until 1959 when it would appear
that the Mid Brunswick Green dado started to be
replaced by one of a range of colours
provisioned for the purpose of applying dados
to interior compartments, which were taken

from BS 2660 Colours for Building and
Decorative Paints. The BS 2660 colours did not
have names, only having reference numbers. The
Admiralty therefore appears to have assigned its
own names to 1-025 (Red) Admiralty Pattern No.
10600; 3-036 (Fawn) AP 10601; 3-045 (Brown)
and 6-073 AP 10603 (Green).
AFO 3060/59 entitled Painting Schemes for
HM Ships dated 18th December 1959, fails to
give details as to how the hangar deck was to be
painted in a sufficiently clear manner for this
landlubber firmly to grasp. It is evident that the
bulkheads were still to be painted white but it is
not clear whether a dado in one of the colours
described above was to be applied. If it was,
instructions were given that the dado was not to
exceed twenty four inches in workshops. The
bulkheads of the lift wells were still to be
finished matt black but there is no specific
mention of the hangar deck itself.
Unfortunately, AFO (U)852/62 Painting
Schemes for HM Ships dated 11th May 1962 is
identically worded and Defence Council
Instruction (RN) (U)442/65 of the same title
dated 19th March 1965, which is the last
document dealing with the subject that I
currently have, is equally silent on the matter. In
the light of some anecdotal evidence I found on
the Internet, it is thought that the hangar deck
remained unpainted steel until at least the late

1960s.
It is however apparent from photographs that
by the time Ark Royal retired in 1978, her hangar
deck did have some kind of paint upon it, and as
an educated guess based on what appears to
have been subsequent practice, it is suggested
that this would have been Dark Admiralty
Grey BS 381C No. 632 in colour.



GANNET

Revell Fairey Gannet in 1/72
By Mike Fleckenstein
Northern Virginia Modelers IPMS-USA

Air Arm (FAA) by the Fairey Aviation Company. It
was a mid wing monoplane with a tricycle
undercarriage, a crew of three, and a double
turboprop engine driving two contra rotating
propellers.

History

O

kay, it's an old and these days politically
insensitive joke that circulated around
the Fairey plant while the Gannet was

being built in the 1950s. The Fairey Gannet is a
British carrier borne aircraft of the post World
War II era developed for the Royal Navy's Fleet

Eduard’s
set 73315 includes a
comprehensive set of colour
interior parts that will bring
the cockpit to life

The Gannet was originally developed to meet
the FAA's dual role antisubmarine warfare and
strike requirement. It was later adapted into
electronic countermeasures, airborne early
warning and carrier onboard delivery versions.
The Gannet was unique among carrier borne
aircraft in that the wing folded in two places to
form a distinctive Z shape on each side to allow
for easier storage on British carriers. The Gannet
used two Armstrong Siddeley Mamba turboprop
engines mounted side-by-side and coupled to
coaxial contra rotating propellers. One engine

Warpaint
offer an excellent one-stop
reference on the type

26 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K

could be stopped to conserve fuel and extend

endurance for cruise flight. In addition to the
United Kingdom, the Gannet was also operated
by Australia, Indonesia and West Germany.
Most folks considered the Gannet an ugly
beast at best but like the contemporary
Grumman TBF Avenger it had a brutish beauty
and unlike the Avenger sported some attractive
colour schemes.

The Kit
Previous to the release of the Revell kit the
only offering in 1/72 scale was the clunky Frog
kit from 1965 and all its subsequent reboxings
and reissues by companies like Donetsk and
Novo. With the release of the new tool Revell kit

Woldpack’s
wing fold parts
mate up to the kit
fuselage almost perfectly
after a little clean-up


M A LTA S P IT F IR E

Revellution to Scratch…

A scale model
project with ups
and downs

By Michael Hase

enough to meet with both historians and
excellent scale modellers, among them Brian
Chauchi and others from IPMS Malta, to discuss
the subject. No Mk V has been recovered from
the sea around Malta and Gozo and none has
been preserved there, only a rebuilt Mk IXc at
the Malta Aviation Museum. The surviving info
on these aircraft then, so vital for Malta's
survival, is sparse.

Kit No: 04164
Scale: 1/72
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
Manufacturer: Revell
www.revell.de

D

o you know the feeling when you start a
project with a very expensive conversion
set and then out of the blue one of our
friends from the Czech Republic or Poland
comes up with a decent kit of the conversion
begun not too long ago? I bet you do! After
some considerable time however the project
resurfaces from the mess and you decide to try
and finish it. That's where this story begins...

Malta's 1942 Spitfires are famous for their still
very much debated camouflage and so I decided
to do a Mk Vc from a Pavla conversion set
(LU72051) and a Revell Mk V I had in my stash. At
that time only Sword offered a decent Mk Vc
with very good interior and extra details, but
that's another story. Today we have the
AZModels’ Mk Vc, which will allow both a very
good Mk Vb and Vc in 1/72.
Until 2015 there was only Brian Cauchi's work
Malta Spitfires 1942 – Their Colours and Markings
for reference, but in SAM 12/2015 and 01/2016
Paul Lucas featured two very well researched
articles about the Malta Spitfires, together with
interesting paint suggestions for several Mk Vbs
and Vcs.

I have always been interested in Malta's World
War II history and the aircraft involved. During
my several visits to the island I have been lucky

I opted for BR130 T°D, a Mk Vc delivered to
Malta with Operation Calendar in April 1942 just
in time to meet further German attacks on the
island. This aircraft survived the siege and was

Pavla's Mk Vc conversion set for the old Revell
Supermarine Spitfire Mk V with separate
ailerons, flaps and complete armament bay

Some plastic surgery for the Revell fuselage.
You don´t always need to use a lot of heavy
metal

30 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K

transferred to the USAAF in 1943. Interestingly it
had the inboard mounted cannons deleted and
kept the outboard ones.
The old Revell Mk V is not the worst kit of a
Spitfire I have seen but the wing configuration is
more of a generic type than that of a Mk Vb.
Additionally the gull wing section is
completely wrong. Pavla's conversion
came to the rescue and having both at
hand I started this project almost
three years ago. Previous trials
with mating fuselages of other
Spitfire kits (AZ and Tamyia) were
not successful at all so I stayed with the Revell
kit.
First I created the interior of the cockpit. As
there would not be much to be seen I left it
more or less basic using sprues, rods and other
bits and pieces from the spares box. The only
metal part used was the panel from another
aftermarket set. The Sutton harness came from
Eduard and was enhanced by the tension string
cables aft of the cockpit.
The control column was also scratch built and

detailed as this will be seen clearly in the
cockpit. Before that I decided how the ailerons
would be positioned and the control stick was
positioned accordingly.
The whole assembly was painted Interior

Cockpit complete and painted. I used Model
Master's Interior Green for the green painted
sections. Some detail was highlighted with
Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils


M A LTA S P IT F IR E

Mk I V

It s getting better with
again filling, sanding
and polishing…

Grey primer and still some
holes and gaps

Green and highlighted with light green after a
wash with a dark grey-brown oil colour. Nothing
new to the experienced modeller. For detail
work I prefer Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils.
These stick very well to painted surfaces and are
a great help with the finer touches.
Next the fuselage halves were glued together

and the first test fitting of fuselage and wing
followed. The immediate impression
was ‘never ever’ and my thoughts
ventured for the first time towards the
waste bin adjacent to my modelling
desk. Sanding and sawing,
sawing and
sanding

ensued but at the end of the day it worked out
well. The reason I wanted to use this wing set
was that it was correct with the wing root
section aft and showed the armament bays
open. As a nice gimmick for a maintenance
scene it had separately moulded flaps. Not
surprisingly the wing tip parts did not mate
without a lot of filler. Pavla supplied them but I
used the Revell ones. Both were equally difficult
to fix.
Spitfires had a very distinctive gull wing
centre section aft of the wing and Pavla supplied
this part as a replacement for the wrongly
shaped Revell part. Again the glance towards the

waste bin when it did not fit! Eventually I used
one from an AZ Spitfire, together with yet
another sheet of plastic and some filler. Just have
a look at the pictures...
Spitfires had a special metal sheet plate to
cover the tank in front of the cockpit. Although

very thin, especially in 1/72, I wanted to include
this into my build. I cut a very thin Evergreen
sheet to the size 12mm by 20.5mm and glued
this onto the fuselage.
I cut off the oil cooler from the wing and
added a slightly larger and better fitting one to
the wing. The Malta Spitfire Mk Vcs mostly had

APRIL 2019 • VOLUME 41 • ISSUE 02

31


VILDEBEEST

Building Special Hobby's Reboxing of the Azur/Fromm
Vickers Vildebeest Mark III
By Dave Hooper

allow for the accommodation of a third crew
member. Mark III Vildebeests went into service
with 36 Squadron in 1934 and 22 Squadron in
1935. The Royal New Zealand Air Force also
evaluated and purchased several examples of
the Mark III.
Like the better known Fairey Swordfish, the
Vildebeest was still in active service at the
outbreak of World War II. Vildebeests of 22 and
42 Squadrons were Coastal Command’s only
source of torpedo bombers until the Bristol

Beaufort arrived in 1940 while 36, 100 and 236
Squadrons served in Asia. 36 and 236 Squadrons
were based in Singapore where they were
outclassed against the oncoming tide of the
Japanese in 1941.

Kit No: 72400
Scale: 1/72
Type: Injection Moulded Plastic
Manufacturer: Special Hobby
www.specialhobby.eu

The Kit

Main Reference:
Vickers Aircraft Since 1908, Putnam

T

he Vickers Vildebeest was designed as a
torpedo carrier and bomber to meet the
requirements of the RAF specification
24/25 for a high altitude bomber intended to
replace the Hawker Horsley. The first prototype
was completed in the spring of 1928 and began
trials in September of that year, in competition
with the Blackburn Beagle. These and
subsequent trials resulted in a development
order for nine Vildebeests to a rewritten
specification of 22/31.

The Mark III was the result of an air
ministry request for a redesigned rear
cockpit to

This Special Hobby 1/72 kit of the Mark III
Vildebeest is a direct reboxing of the
Azur/Fromm kit that first surfaced around 2011.
I’m no expert but as far as I can tell the Special
Hobby version is exactly the same as the Azur
original, even including the same decal sheet,
resin block and photo etch fret.
The kit itself has a limited run look and feel to
it, in that the plastic fuselage is reasonably thick
and the location points are either non-existent
or minimal. However the actual quality of
the moulding is very good and the
plastic is reasonably clean of defects
other than faint lines caused by the
mould joins. The photo etch fret is
fairly busy but thankfully sticks to
depicting parts of the model that

are more suited to the medium. There are also a
few a few small resin parts covering details such
as the Vickers gun and the Bristol Pegasus radial
engine. The colourful decal sheet, produced by
Avi-print, contains options for four Vildebeests,
with two in RAF green and earth brown
camouflage, and two silver wings, of which one
depicts an RNZAF training aircraft. The

instructions come in the form of a booklet. Line
constructional drawings are mostly in black and
white, with the odd coloured area and are
generally fairly easy to follow with a few
exceptions.

Interior
Considering the scale, this kit has a fairly
detailed interior. The forward pilot's section is
mainly constructed around a detailed and
realistic flooring part on which the seat, which is
moulded in two pieces, control column and
rudder bar fit. The seat assembly includes photo
etch Sutton style harnesses. There is also a nice
little instrument panel and a few photo etch
details such as trim wheel and throttle that are
designed to fit in to the fuselage side wall. The
rear observers section includes spare Lewis
drum racks that fit directly to the rear floor and a
seat which can either be set in a horizontal or
vertical (folded) position. Some framework parts,
designed to fit across the fuselage, forward and
behind the observer’s position are also included.
The fuselage sidewalls have some nice
framework detail that looks impressive once a
little paint has been added.

Sidewalls
painted
A small piece of plastic rod

was fitted across the window
to complete the missing
framework

The pilots station
in progress

34 W W W. S C A L E A I R C R A F T M O D E L L I N G . CO. U K


VILDEBEEST

drilled out for
the aileron control
rods that fit between
the upper and lower
ailerons. I personally
found the drawings
that are included to
show you the position of
these location points initially
very confusing as there was nothing to tell me
what the diagrams represented. I did however
get there in the end, it just took a little longer to
figure out. Perhaps the old brain's getting a little
slow! At this point in the proceedings I also
drilled rigging location points in to the fuselage
and wings, upper and lower. The wings on these
models have a reasonable substance which is
enough that I didn’t feel that I needed to drill all

the way through in order to achieve a secure
bond to the rigging. Therefore I produced small
wire rigging attachment loops to fit in to the
underside of the upper wing. This was done by
wrapping wire around a 0.3mm drill and twisting
the end so that when cut they produced a pin to
fit in to the location point. Once this was done,
mending thread, which I used as my preferred
rigging material, was fitted in to some of the
harder to reach locations between the cabane
struts on the fuselage. The upper wing was then
glued to the cabane struts being careful to
ensure that the wings aligned from all angles.
Again I chose to replace the interplane struts
with parts made from Strutz which were spring
fitted between the wings. I then began the
process of rigging the wings. The Vildebeest is
not a difficult subject to rig because there is
plenty of space between the two wings. The
rigging process was a simple in that one end of
the monofilment thread was fitted in the
location hole in the lower wing. The other end
was threaded through the corresponding loop
in the upper wing. It was initially cemented to
the loop, but the thread was then knotted and
the knot cemented, before cutting away the
excess. As long as there are no blockages or
poorly bonded loops, the process is a fairly quick
one to complete.

Engine
The Bristol Pegasus IIM3 engine is supplied in
three parts. The main engine including the
cylinders is supplied as a nice little resin part,
while the various pipes that connect with each
cylinder are supplied in plastic. While the resin
part is very nice, it is missing what somebody
more used to writing about World War I rotary
engines would assume are push rods. These
were manufactured from brass rod and fitted
between the central hub and each cylinder
head. Each part was painted separately before
construction took place. Then the fun part

began
as the fit
between the
plastic pipe work
and the resin engine is
not obvious and needs to be
worked at. I began by fitting the
rear pipe work in place. This part needed some
adjustment to enable it to fit but nowhere near
as much as the front section of pipe work which
has the added complexity of ensuring that the
correct pipes are fitted to the correct side of
each cylinder. I wasn’t too worried if during the
adjustments of the position of these pipes some
broke away from the central hub as it was frankly
easier to individually refit each pipe than it was

to make the whole piece work. Somehow I got
there in the end, although I’m not entirely quite
sure how. The engine was then fitted to the
fuselage. Two exhaust pipes are designed to fit
to the central hub of the front pipe work section.
These were also painted before gluing in
position, which was done after the main engine
unit had been fitted to the fuselage.

Undercarriage
The undercarriage is supplied in three parts
per side. V shaped struts that sit under the lower
wing fit to the wheel spats, which includes the
wheel as part of the moulding. A third strut then
fits between the fuselage and the wheel spat. I
painted all of these parts separately prior to
assembly. Some decals also need to be wrapped
around the spats on the option that I was
building. This part of the process concerned me,
but the nature of the decals are such that I
managed to apply the decal to this area without
any problems with just the aid of a little Mr Mark
Setter Neo. I then glued the spats to the V
shaped struts and fitted these to each lower
wing, drilling out location holes to allow me to
do so. The third strut that runs between the
fuselage and spat was found to be too short.
Luckily the kit includes two different types of
strut for this purpose which has slightly different
end detail. I therefore used the strut material

from the spare parts to extend the parts that I
needed. Small brass rod was used to pin the
extensions in place. The rear tail wheel is
moulded from one piece of plastic. This is fine
but I felt that the main attachment to the
fuselage was at risk of damage and therefore
opted to replace this section with stronger brass
rod.

Final Details
On most models of this scale, once you reach
this stage you feel that you are on the home
strait. In the case of the Vildebeest there are still
a lot of areas that still need attention, and a lot

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